[420 Girl]

A student group at Fort Lewis College wants to revamp the Student Conduct Code to make marijuana offenses similar to alcohol offenses when it comes to disciplinary sanctions.

As it is now, marijuana use is considered a more-serious offense than alcohol abuse on campus, said Marissa Williams, a senior.

“We want to change these policies to at least equal status," Williams said. “We believe marijuana is safer than alcohol and should be treated that way."

Substance abuse is handled on a case-by-case basis at FLC, said college spokesman Mitch Davis. But generally speaking, marijuana offenses are considered more severe than alcohol offenses, because marijuana is an illegal substance and students who possess it are breaking the law, he said.

Williams said students who use alcohol on campus are given “three strikes" before they are removed from housing or suspended from school. But there is a zero-tolerance policy for students caught with marijuana.

“I have met a lot of freshmen who have been kicked out for a first-time offense with marijuana," she said.

Davis said FLC does not have a three-strike policy or a no- tolerance policy.

“Our disciplinary office here on campus will take a look at the situation," he said. “Every situation is different."

According to the Student Conduct Code, drug use and possession will result in “substantial disciplinary action," up to and including suspension.

Williams said alcohol is a societal problem that leads to drunken driving, aggressive tendencies, sexual assaults and alcohol poisoning. Marijuana does not lead to aggressive behavior, and it can be used to treat medical conditions, she said.

“It's so obvious that alcohol is a bad choice compared to marijuana," Williams said. “As a woman on campus, I feel like a lot of date rapes and sexual assaults occur under the influence of alcohol."

Alcohol violations also can result in loss of housing or suspension, but there are several lesser consequences mentioned in the Student Conduct Code, including: b Warnings.

b Housing probation.

b Referrals to the FLC Counseling Center or a community alcohol-education program.

The Student Conduct Code makes no mention of these lesser punishments for drug use.

With the legalization of medical marijuana, college campuses across Colorado have had to decide whether to allow medical marijuana to be smoked on campus.

Fort Lewis College allows students to smoke medical marijuana on campus if they possess a medical-marijuana card, Davis said. But they have to smoke it outside their dorm rooms - similar to the rules for smoking tobacco. The school is reviewing the policy, Davis said.

The University of Colorado does not allow medical marijuana to be smoked on campus. To do so would be a violation of the Student Conduct Code, said CU spokesman Bronson Hilliard.

“We've made the determination we don't want marijuana in our residence halls or on our campus," he said.

Like Fort Lewis, CU handles drug and alcohol offenses on a case-by-case basis, Hilliard said. Drug violations are not necessarily more severe than alcohol violations, he said.

“We review each of those situations as they come up," he said.


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